Ten men, mostly from Cape, arrested in sting operation on charge of sexual conduct for fee

Rachael Devaney, Cape Cod Times
·1 min read
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Ten men, primarily from Cape Cod, who are alleged to have solicited sex from undercover police officers posing as escorts online were arrested Tuesday during a sting operation.

Each man faced a charge of one count of paying for sexual conduct, according to a Barnstable Police Department press release.

Arrested were Jonathan Cutler, 44, of South Yarmouth; Paul Wickles, 52, of Hyannis; Gary Soares, 40, of New Bedford; Peter Bornstein, 58, of Brewster; Calmore Plummer, 47, of Hyannis; Steven Hamilton, 57, of Chatham; John Blackledge, 44, of East Sandwich; Peter Macleod, 63, of Sandwich; George Wheeler, 61, of East Falmouth; and Jose Reyes, 31, of Marstons Mills. The individuals were to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on the day of their arrest, Tuesday, or the next day. As part of the sting operation, undercover officers created sex advertisements online, according to a Barnstable police report. Ten individuals responded to the advertisements and held text and phone conversations with undercover police, according to the police report. Each person arrived at an agreed upon location, where they were expecting to pay for a range of sexual services, the police said in the report. At the time of their arrival, they were met by arrest teams and arrested. The operation was a coordinated mission between Barnstable police, Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and Massachusetts State Police.

On Thursday, Robert Galibois, Cape and Islands District Attorney, said he could not comment on the arrests because they are part of an ongoing investigation.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sex solicitation sting operation leads to 10 arrests on Cape Cod